Monday, December 02, 2013

Computer Upgrade

My Dell tower has been running Windows Vista since it was new 5 years ago. But as I run more and more software simultaneously, it got to the point where it would freeze-up in the middle of my work and need to be rebooted. This was especially bothersome when I was helping someone on the telephone. I reached the point where I had to upgrade it or replace it. Friday night my brother Lloyd doubled the RAM and added a second hard disk. And it seems to have solved the problem!

My Website Is back Online

My website is back online, this time at http://billbuchanan.x10.mxIt is the same as it was, except that the family database has been updated.

As I note on the site:"I encourage you to sign-up for FamilySearch Family Tree, where I have uploaded genealogy, photos, stories and sources. That way, if you have additional research, old family photos and stories, you can share it with the entire family by uploading it there. FamilySearch.org is part of the GSU (Genealogical Society of Utah), which has been gathering genealogy and making it available to the public since 1894. This site is totally free and accessible to everyone, and it is as close to a permanent repository as you are likely to find. As you browse your part of the family tree, look for photos and stories that I have linked to the "person" pages on the site. (You may need to add 2 or 3 generations to connect yourself with the records of deceased people there, but it is easily done. Records of living people can only be seen by the person who created them. If you need help, call the toll-free number 1-866-406-1830 for Canada and USA and ask for help with Family Tree.) ... I think I am just about finished with trying to maintain a personal website. They tend to vanish without any warning at the whim of the webhost. I have hopes for x10 but it is probably my 9th or 10th webhost! If I vanish again, look for my postings on familysearch.org/tree"!

Where and which is Konigsau?

A member of my class was hoping to find the parents of his ancestor Johan Dekinder. Through research I was able to find that Johan was born in Konigsau, Lemberg, Austria, which is now Rivne, L'viv, Ukraine. During the latter part of his reign, Holy Roman Emperor Josef II arranged the creation of German-speaking settlements in the area around L'viv/Lemberg as model farming communities to serve as an example to the Ukrainian and Polish speaking residents. One of these communities was Konigsau, shaped like a regular pentagon. It seems like a fascinating place! I was fortunate to find the local history book, which lists 3 generations of Johan's ancestors! It does not tell where Johan's great grandparents were born, but that is another puzzle for my friend to work on.

In 1939, the Hitler government brought all of the German-speaking residents to Germany, and these settlements became Ukrainian-speaking. The "Galician Germans" became just another chapter in the history books.